Thursday, January 31, 2013

I've Got Your Number

Warner comedy from 1934. Story: Telephone repairman (Pat O'Brien) falls for a switchboard operator (Joan Blondell) who is unknowingly being used by gangster to rob her bosses.

-Viewed on 1/15/2013 (Sovereign premeire)

-First Joan Blondell movie of the year. Due to a very serious, long standing infatuation with Ms. Blondell, it won't be the last.
-No need to tell you that she's great in this movie. And cute.
-Pat O'Brien's Terry comes across as unlikable at first (he's basically a lazy womanizer), but by the last third of the movie he becomes more sympathetic. O'Brien does a good job of convincing the audience that he's a changed man.
-Glenda Ferrell's part as a phony psychic is too small. She appeared in many pictures with Blondell, sometimes in smaller, supporting roles and other times with equal billing. They make a great comedy duo when given the chance.
-It took me a while to remember where I had seen Eugene Pallette, who plays O'Brien's boss, before. His most famous role was as Friar Tuck in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). He always seemed a bit out-of-place in that film, but works perfectly here.
-Blondell had an apendectomy near the end of filming, so the final shot of her in bed had to be done in her own bedroom.
-The movie presents a fascinating view of the inner workings of the telephone system. It would probably seem like science fiction to kids today, but it really hasn't been that long since the phone system was run by one company.